Zhongyuan Securities·2026-02-13 07:38Investment Rating - The report maintains an "Outperform" investment rating for the communication industry [4][7]. Core Insights - In January 2026, the communication industry index increased by 5.47%, outperforming the Shanghai Composite Index (+3.76%), CSI 300 Index (+1.65%), Shenzhen Component Index (+5.03%), and ChiNext Index (+4.47%) [3][13]. - The capital expenditure of the four major North American cloud providers is expected to grow significantly, with a projected increase of over 60% in 2026 [6][24]. - The procurement results for special optical cables by China Mobile indicate that eight manufacturers, including Tongding Interconnection and Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable, have been selected, highlighting the focus on key sectors such as industrial manufacturing and digital government [6][7]. Summary by Sections Industry Performance - The communication industry index showed a strong performance in January 2026, with a 5.47% increase, outperforming major indices [3][13]. - Sub-sectors within the communication industry saw varied performance, with cable, other communication equipment, and system equipment rising by 19.70%, 10.72%, and 7.85% respectively [16]. Telecommunications Sector - In 2025, the telecommunications business revenue reached CNY 1.75 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 0.7% [6][45]. - By December 2025, 5G mobile phone users accounted for 65.9% of total mobile phone users, with a monthly data usage (DOU) of 23.04GB per user, reflecting a 17.0% year-on-year increase [6][45]. Cloud Infrastructure Investment - The combined capital expenditure of the four major North American cloud providers in Q4 2025 was USD 126 billion, marking a 62.0% year-on-year increase [24][25]. - For 2026, the total capital expenditure guidance for these providers exceeds USD 660 billion, with an expected growth of 61.0% [24][25]. AI and Smartphone Market - The retail sales of communication equipment in China increased by 20.9% year-on-year in December 2025, driven by the demand for smartphones [44]. - The global smartphone shipment is projected to grow by 2% in 2025, reaching 1.25 billion units, with AI smartphones expected to penetrate 34% of the market by 2025 [6][44]. Investment Recommendations - The report suggests focusing on companies involved in optical devices, optical chips, optical modules, and AI smartphones, including Tianfu Communication, ZTE, and China Mobile [7][6].